Happy Halloween!

For Halloween we dressed in our finest purple kitty attire and headed to down town Lebanon for a little Halloween fest put on by the town.  It was just right for Isabelle - some storytelling, apples & cheese, a horse drawn wagon ride, and even a few sweet treats!

listening to some "scary" stories

coloring a pumpkin with markers, check out those teeth!

waiting for the wagon ride

a cute purple kitten

yay, we finally got on!

and off we go!

loosing our ears...

a happy kitty and daddy

I would say it was a Halloween success!  I am officially 35 weeks pregnant today and feeling great.  I am (I think) experiencing braxton hicks contractions lately, something I don't remember with Isabelle....so that is new... and baby had hiccups for the first time a few days ago.  And well I can go about 15 minutes before I need a bathroom in a bad way.... we are so close now and I am definitely having baby fever!  I can't wait for this little baby to come out!

but for now I am just relishing in the peculiar and erratic movements in my belly that look like an alien might pop out at any moment... 

a white weekend

A weekend in good company - grammy and grampy came up for some good old fashion weekend fun.  Saturday we went to the Harpoon brewery for some lunch and while the boys went on a tour my mom, Isabelle, and I headed over to visit the cows at Billing's Farm.  Isabelle braved the milking and actually watched this time (very brave).  Aaron and my dad also somehow made it over to Long Trail for some beer tasting as well- how convenient to take a long way home!  And as predicted the first Nor' Eastah came through and dumped a pile of snow on us Saturday night - I would say a good 5 or 6 inches in our neck of the woods.  And it was perfect weather for a big breakfast followed by romping in the snow and building a snow family building.

playing a little cowboy and horses

johnny cakes

blueberry pancakes

beginning the layering for snow play

layering complete

sledding

making snowmen

our snow family

(you likely can't see but my snow woman has a baby bump too)

Isabelle posing with the snow family

And while I was truly tempted to put on some classy holiday music (I know I know way too early for holiday music).... instead we finished up isabelle's halloween costume for tomorrow.  She wanted to be a purple kitten with pink ears....so all I had to do was make a tail and ears...she has plenty of purple clothing... and voila....a purple kitten with pink ears!

purple kitten complete....

pumpkins!

Wednesday Isabelle and I did a little crafting with apples - instead of making apple star prints we decided to cut the apple the other way to get a pumpkin look.  There are so many things you can do with apples...good thing because they are in bounty!

first make some orange paint

cut the apple and start stampin!

add some stems..

take a break and eat the other half of that apple...

and of course sign our masterpiece

And later that day daddy brought home two pumpkins for Isabelle to carve, we haven't had an opportunity to get to a pumpkin patch..... i know i know.....excuse after excuse....

exciting stuff!

picking out the seeds...

isabelle picked out the faces she wanted from one of her favorite Halloween books

thank goodness they were simple!

And as some of you may have heard yesterday we got a little snow, there was barely any accumulation last night...but sure enough this morning the ground was white!  Isabelle woke up so excited to wear her new snow boots....me, not so excited.  Yikes...this is early....even for NH...I think...

I'm pretty sure Bing Crosby never sang, "I'm dreaming of a white Halloween"...

taking it easy

Taking it easy... that has been the motto for the past week.  For the past few days I have been feeling a bit under the weather and thus monopolizing the couch, drinking lots of water, and gurgling salt water (all the while trying to minimally entertain Isabelle).  I have managed to capture a few pictures of the past few days....although nothing that will likely "wow" anyone - just us.... taking it easy...

receiving blankets, burp cloths, bibs, booties, oh my!

I had one productive day last week where I finished sewing receiving blankets, burp cloths and bibs for some special babies out there.  I started this project with my mom in RI and brought the last few things to finish up here.  It has been nice breaking out the sewing machine...I can only imagine it will collect dust for a while after baby is born...

a little fuzzy but here is mr. furio snuggled up in the lamb skin

the beginnings of some delicious french onion soup

a new book

A few months ago one of my favorite blogs author (soulemama) was preparing for her 5th home birth and she shared this book "Welcome With Love", by Jenni Overend, that she used to prepare her little ones for the coming of their new baby.  I made a mental note that I would need to get that for Isabelle when the time was right...and with 6 weeks to go...the time is now.  This is a beautifully illustrated book about a family who has a home birth, it is both honest and real about what happens and is told through the eyes of the youngest brother.  It has really opened up our discussions with Isabelle about what to expect - mommy will have pains in her belly and she might will yell and scream - but that is what happens when you have a baby.  We have read the book over and over and each time she has new questions and is quite impressed with her word of the day: placenta!

isabelle visits and re-visits the actual birth pages with intrigue

We are still slightly unsure of how things will go, there isn't exactly a place to hide and seek quiet if I am screaming... but Grammy will be here just for Isabelle and who knows....Isabelle might just wake up to a new baby in the morning...only time will tell.

Saturday and Sunday were spent in Maine, where we visited with Grampy Weed, and Great Grampy & Great Grammy Weed.  We had the pleasure of visiting with great grammy's sister-in-law, Norma, who has some beautiful 26 acres in Union, ME right on a lake.  It was quite lovely to roam around their property, weave through the apple orchards, play hide and seek by the lake, and enjoy the chesnut trees (Norma and her late husband Austin were dedicated to growing and reintroducing the American Chesnut - a tree that has been totally devistated by Asian Chestnut blight).  Unfortunately I don't have any photos to show for it, Aaron took a few and now are on a remote hard drive (so we may never see them).

Either way things have been going pretty well around here (not the part with me having a cold...) and we continue to just take it easy and enjoy the three of us for the remaining few weeks until number four comes along.

be my baby bumble bee

Be my little baby bumble bee 
(Buzz around, buzz around, keep a-buzzin' 'round) 
Bring home all the honey, love, to me
(Little bee, little bee, little bee) 
Let me spend the happy hours 
Roving with you 'mongst the flow'rs 
And when we get where no one else can see 
(Cuddle up, cuddle up, cuddle up) 
Be my little baby bumble bee 
(Buzz around, buzz around, keep a-buzzin' 'round)

my baby bumble bee...

me, 5 years (sorry for the iphone reflection)

While spending some time at grammy and grampy's house we managed to stumble across a few old bags filled with old halloween costumes and dance costumes...and as you can imagine Isabelle's eyes lit up with the prospect of ballerina clothes.  We have been a little reluctant to bring "dress up clothes" into the mix as she has such a hard time with her regular clothes but I can tell she is so excited to finally have some real ballerina shoes and even a little outfit to prance around in.  We will see how it goes - I am hoping that we don't have any emotional breakdowns when we need to change back into day clothes to go to the store...only time will tell.  But for now I love that she loves her little baby bumble bee outfit.

Today we also had a check up with our new Midwives (yes plural).  We chose two gals who run a birthing center in Concord (Concord Birthing Center), we still plan to have a home birth but have to drive to concord for all of our prenatal visits.  It is a little less than ideal (it is an hour drive from our house) but really like them and are excited to have found our midwives.  Having been so busy over the last few months we have not had much time to think about impending addition to our family... but here we are... only 7 weeks to go!  My friend Kelly asked me this past weekend how I was feeling about the whole home birth experience, and honestly I think it was a "no-brainer" decision at 12 weeks....now at 33 weeks I am feeling... well a little bit of every emotion out there.... I suppose that is only natural....

 right?!

he's baaaaack

So I forgot to mention that over the past week and a half my parents have witnessed more and more sightings of our little crazy kitty Furio - yes the very same kitty we pretty much signed off to the coyotes 2 weeks ago (see Operation Kitty: Failed post for more).  Even more encouraging he has been coming around each evening for dinner.  And today Isabelle and I drove down to Rhode Island for a visit to grammy & grampy's after dropping Aaron off at the airport for his meeting in NC.  Right on cue (actually a little early) Furio showed up for dinner and with little hope that I would actually catch our kitty I brought out the food and called him close.  And he came!

thinking about how much he wants that food...

Closer and closer....and he eventually ate out of the bowl right next to me!  I cautiously leaned over to pet him (assuming he would bolt) and he didn't budge - I seized the moment and grabbed him by the scruff and successfully got him inside!

ferociously eating his bowl of food

He is a little skinny, a little scruffy, and a few ticks too many... but our little kitty is back.  I was a bit nervous he would have snapped and gone over to the wild side but he is as sweet as ever and in desperate need of attention.  He is purring up a storm and yowling at us every time we visit with him and even letting isabelle give him some love.

we are so happy and keeping our fingers crossed 

that he actually makes it up to New Hampshire this time... 

Operation Kitty: SUCCESS!!

rosy cheeks and dreams of the big red barn....

snuggle buddies

Friday Isabelle woke up with some rosy warm cheeks so in fear of something horrible brewing we took it easy.  Naps all around, lots of reading, cuddling (with Sid), and popcorn on the couch.  And after a tired momma got tired of reading books to Isabelle, she decided she could "read" them to herself.  And she did!  She practically knew every word to "Any Room For Me?" - the classic story of the old man losing his mitten in the woods which then becomes occupied by the mouse, frog, hare, fox, wild boar, and huge bear (and yes i have memorized this book too...).  I just love to hear the inflection of her voice when she reads "of course, come in" - just like mom and dad.

our favorite book lately

Fortunately the rosy warm cheeks were gone by the evening and she even perked up a little and did a few laps around the house in celebration of burrito night.  Saturday we decided it was hay ride weather and in true New England fashion knew it wouldn't be too hard to find one within a half an hour.  We decided to head over to Woodstock, VT to Billings farm, a small farm over 138 years old with a working dairy heard, draft horses, oxen, and a farm museum. They have the cutest doe eyed jersey cows and even had a hand full of calves that I lovingly let suck on my fingers (mommy instincts kicking in).

our wagon ride in waiting, pulled by two huge percherons

isabelle loving the bumps and bouncing of the horse drawn wagon

And at some point I must have scarred isabelle.  Likely when she was about 9 months old and in a bouncy seat in the middle of a cold barn while I chased after my flock of research sheep for my master's project or maybe when she was 3 months old and I took breaks from dissecting lamb intestine to breast feed.  She was surrounded by livestock as a baby and then at some point she became deathly afraid of the possible moo or baa that might emerge from the ruminant belly.  She refuses to get up close and personal with livestock and I don't know if this child is actually mine sometimes.  Yesterday as we walked through the dairy barn she clings, shuts her eyes, and buries herself into her dad's shoulder and only sneaks a quick peak at the calves.  I'm sure it is just a phase, just not a phase I quite expected from my child.  Me, who secretly (or not so secretly), wants desperately to someday live in Margret Wise Brown's "Big Red Barn"...

about as close as isabelle will get to the cows...

recently enjoyed

here are a collection of photos over the past few days 
that capture some recently enjoyed moments
...not too many words needed

finally getting around to use my possum/merino yarn (gifted from NZ via kelly)

slippers
(on this same day we went for a dip in the lake - loving the "heat wave")

the reflection of leaves on the lake

finding clothing given to isabelle when she was born that i never thought would fit her

(butterfly sweatshirt - thank you alicia & lars!)

isabelle making our favorite granola bar recipe

(i will post this recipe sooner or later - it is a win)

mung bean sprouts

a busy stove top 

(making stock with leftover chicken carcass & rehydrating chickpeas for falafel night)

weekend:perfect

This weekend the weather warmed up and we decided to hop in the car and visit one of my favorite places  (now only an hour away) - White Mountain National Forest.  My family vacationed here when we were young children and then as I got older my dad took me on countless backpacking trips through the Whites.  Each time I can remember driving home thinking... I love this place....this is where I want to live...  And now, several years later, here we are - right in the thick of it.

We drove up to Lincoln, passed the classic touristy Clarks Trading Post and Whale's Tale Water Park, and had our sites set on Indian Head Trail, a 1.9 mile moderate hike up Mt. Pemigewasset.  And well, it kicked my butt pretty hard on the way up.... 7 months pregnant and my center of gravity is slightly off... not to mention the pounds I am packing... but it was so worth it.  The foliage is just starting to turn and the views were great.

sweaty back

yes...we got a good work out (both aaron and i were carrying an extra 30 pounds)

foliage and a sweaty bump

silliness

And on Sunday we enjoyed a visit from Nana and GG.  The weather was picture perfect again and we enjoyed likely our last grilled burger and pasta salad for this year (outside anyways).

enjoying the view